Kind to be Cruel?

[Nick Cross]

When is it appropriate to give "tough love" at a critique group? I'm sure we've all been in the situation where someone has read or submitted something that is so off-track that we hesitate to know where to start with the criticism. Is it better to tell someone outright that a piece of work is so flawed that they might as well start again? Or would this just discourage that person from trying the next time? Too often I see something get the "nod and smile" treatment from a group, when in fact I wonder if someone (me?) should have shot it down.

I sometimes find myself reading or listening to a perfectly well-written piece that does nothing for me at all. In some ways, these are even harder, because I have to ask myself whether it's my personal dislike of the theme or tone that's at fault. There are a couple of people writing novels in my adult writing group that fall into this category and I find myself listening to them read week after week, wondering if the problem is with their writing or my thinking! That's what you get for being a disembodied brain...

Nick.

[Miriam Halahmy]

I never think it helps to just shoot someone down. I think it is always good to start by saying something positive about the work and then to choose which area to critique and to either ask a question, to open the topic up or to suggest a way of developing/fixing the problem. In relation to a very good piece of work, sometimes it helps to say, I'm just not drawn in and would like to undestand why. It might just help the writer to spot somthing they couldn't see before.

[Nick Cross]

I like that, Peter, it's a very diplomatic and informative answer to give. Plus, you don't have to read their manuscript!

[Peter Taylor]

This is hard.

I get a number of people finding my website and asking if I'll give an opinion on their work - usually a 3000+ word moralising text for an unpublishable picture book.

I usually tell them that I am not sure what publishers are printing these kinds of stories at the moment and recommend they go to the library and borrow as many books as possible published over the last three years (preferably award winners) and actually count the words and discover which publisher likes this length and this kind of theme - and only send the ms to publishers putting out very very similar books. I tell them I have been known to be wrong, but I fear this might prove difficult, and if the aim is truly to have the story published, it may worth considering if it should be restructured to fit in to what the majority of publishers are looking for at the moment... It's purely a business thing. If you want to be published, provide them with what they like best and are buying right now. I also send them a document I've compiled on 'how to write a picture book'.

I usually avoid giving critiques but offer to give an opinon and advice on their cover letter.

Peter ...who has been grateful when people have pointed out stupid mistakes, like the story called 'The Wind Goes On Holiday' (don't think there'd be too many illustrators wanting to work on that one!).

[Nick Cross]

I agree that the person's intentions are key to this - are they just writing for fun or do they want to get published? If someone's writing only for themselves, harsh feedback doesn't achieve anything. I know a guy (not a SCBWI member) who writes all of his stories in a middle school "what I did in my holidays" style, but really believes that he's good and got quite angry at the feedback he received from the judge of the last competition he entered. I didn't know what to say, apart from to stress that it was someone's personal opinion and leave my opinion unsaid.

[candygourlay]

my take is that this is a long, long journey.

tough love at the very early stages of a work can kill everything - and how do you know that you are right?

the best thing is to try to come to a critique group with the greatest respect for what the other parties are bringing to the table. they have their reasons, inspirations, objectives for their work. at critique level, you just want to see how you can help the micro-bit of that work get to the next level. it might be just pointing out one thihng at a time that will help the author turn something around, but in accumulation, it's a learning experience.

the problem with succumbing the urge to blast something is that it defeats the purpose of a critique group - it's about building up trust and incremental learning.

it's a long journey and perfection doesn't have to be achieved at the first level.

[Jeannette Towey]

This is such a tough one, I think. I write book reviews as well as run a crit group and this problem hits me all the time. I think you have to make a judgement call based on how well you know the person and whether they have a professional approach to their writing.

I've recently given quite tough advice to someone and I spent a whole day in a state of angst wondering if I'd scuppered our, albeit cyber, friendship. It turned out though that she was grateful and we've been swapping ideas on how to develop her ideas ever since. But it could so easily have gone the other way if she'd been less professional.

So I guess what that boils down to is give tough love to the deserving and platitudes to the rest!

Not sure that helps but there you go!

Jeannette